The French Press or Coffee Press (referred hereinafter as a coffee press) has become a preferred way of brewing coffee among professional coffee tasters and the coffee drinking public in general. The coffee press is a relatively simple device comprising a pitcher (typically made of glass), a lid with a central hole, and a plunger fitted with a fine mesh screen or filter which is operated through the hole in the lid. In use, the ground coffee is placed in the pitcher and boiling water is added. The top is placed on the pitcher with the plunger withdrawn so that the filter is above the grounds and the water, allowing the coffee to brew. After about five minutes, the plunger is pushed down towards the bottom of the pitcher, so that the coffee grounds are separated from the liquid. While the coffee press has the ability to make superior coffee, it has the drawback of allowing the coffee to cool rapidly, thus losing the desired taste and temperature.
The prior art includes a number of inventions directed towards insulating beverage and other liquid containers. U.S. Pat. No. 1,116,932 issued to Schwartz et al. in 1914 provided for an insulating cover for a hot water bottle, the cover serving both to protect the user from burns and to retain the heat within the bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,346,485 issued to Arrigunaga in 1920 describes a device for the preparation of coffee or like beverages incorporating an insulated container with removable insulated cover. The cover of the device includes a plunger device with a screen at the lower end to separate coffee grounds or tea leaves from the brewing liquid. This device is designed to brew a single glass or serving of coffee or similar beverage with the beverage being drunk from the container directly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,154,772 issued to Rathemacher in 1937 illustrates a bottle holder and protector for maintaining a wine bottle in a chilled condition. The invention is basically an insulating cloth that wraps around the bottle with the neck projecting through a hole in the cloth. U.S. Pat. No. 2,482,322 issued to Cortese in 1947 describes an insulating jacket for a baby bottle that zips or snaps over the feeding bottle. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,381 issued to Kramer in 1948 illustrates a baby bottle-insulating bag with a drawstring enclosure.
Of a slightly different nature, U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,544 issued to Vaughan in 1950 relates to a protective cover designed to minimized breakage of glass coffee pots typically used with commercial drip type coffee makers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,890 issued to Simko in 1980 describes an insulating jacket for bottles that has a bottom zipper enclosure. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,305 issued to Drake-Tipton et al. in 1995 illustrates an insulating sleeve for a beverage pitcher.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,867 issued to the present inventors in September 1998, describes an insulating jacket for a press-type coffee maker incorporating a magnetically sealed spout cover and hinged bottom cover.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a means for maintaining beverages brewed in a coffee press at a desirable drinking temperature. It is a further objective of the invention to provide a coffee press that can be easily used and easily cleaned. It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a means for insulating the lid and spout of the coffee press. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a means to determine the level of beverage remaining within the coffee press. It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a means of determining the temperature or relative temperature of the coffee within the coffee press. It is still another objective of the invention to provide accessories for maintaining the temperature of coffee brewed in non-insulated coffee presses.
While many of the desired features of an insulated coffee press or insulating accessories for a press-type coffee maker may be found in the prior art, no invention previously known incorporates all of the desired features in an insulated coffee press or related accessories which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and effective and simple to use.